Creating pollinator habitats

Whether you have a large yard or a small balcony garden, your pollinator habitat is part of a network of other gardens, parks, byways, etc. that are designed to support pollinators. The larger and more connected that landscape is, the better we can support pollinators! There are some amazing resources out there to help you design a garden, manage a landscape, or develop pollinator habitat. You can use our "Pollinator declines and how you can help" cheatsheet for some fundamental things that you may want to think about before planning your project, including:

• Planting native flowering plants. Check out the many links below to find the plants that work for you. Some sellers provide guides to how "showy" or "weedy" species are to help guide you in selecting plants.

• Keeping diverse resources blooming throughout the growing season ensures that short-term foragers (flying for maybe a month) are supported and long-term foragers have food throughout the growing season.

• "Bee-ing" a lazy mower or switching to lawn alternatives helps to maintain higher bee diversity by supplementing flower resources. "Weeds" such as violets, dandelions, and clovers are often visited by bees and provide much needed resources during flowering gaps in other species.

• Providing nesting habitats.

  • Around 70 % of bees nest in the ground. Mulch sparingly and keep some ground bare for those species that prefer easy access to bare ground. Leave some fallen wood or stems for other species that prefer a little protection over their nests.

  • Let stems stand. Cut back half in the fall and half in the spring to support species that nest during different times of the year. If you are concerned about aesthetic, cut them back to about 12-20 inches (30-50 cm) rather than pulling them.

• Leaving leaves behind. If your leaves blow away with the wind, consider mulching them to provide ground cover for overwintering bees.

• Reducing pesticide use. There are no species-specific pesticides. Any insecticide will affect all insects, and surprisingly, fungicides and even herbicides may harm bees.

• Providing fresh, clean watering holes. Pollinators need access to fresh, clean water for the same reasons we mammals do :).

Resources

Below we have put links to some of the resources we have found helpful in the past. This is definitely not an exhaustive list, so please let us know if you find a new resource that you would like us to include. Cheatsheet: Pollinator declines and how you can help*

* created in collaboration with recent Webster U. alumna, Caroline Mevis!

• A great local backyard conservation program is the Bring Conservation Home Program by the St. Louis Audubon Society. They provide individualized land/garden management recommendations and conservation certification levels.

• The Missouri Botanical Garden has a myriad of resources, including its List of Pollinator Friendly Plants, Guide to Native Landscape Design, Plant Finder Database, the Pollinator Pantry Program in collaboration with St. Louis County Park’s, and the Project Pollinator, a community garden initiative that has a Pollinator Garden Kits!

• For inspiration, check out Grow Native! and Brightside St. Louis' demonstration gardens (among their other resources offered).

• Missouri Wildflower Nursery has excellent Missouri native plant offerings, and provides a information about the aesthetic value, the value to pollinators, and of course, basic requirements of each plant species.

• Xerces Society has region-specific resources in their Pollinator Resource Center, which provide comprehensive recommendations, including plant lists and habitat assessment guides. Missouri is in the south-central region and Illinois is in the great lakes region.

• The Pollinator Partnership offers regional recommendations as well through their North American Pollinator Protection Campaign. Our region is covered by a couple planting guides (e.g., Prairie Parkland, Eastern Broadleaf Forest).

• BeeSpotter has recommendation for making a bee-friendly garden.

• If you are interested in building your own bee hotels, UC Davis provides resources on their Bee Biology website or check out BeeBarns created by Scott Klein.

• Michigan State University's Establishing Pollinator Habitat website includes links to potential funding opportunities!

• Citylab has great infographics summarizing what cities can do to help birds and bees survive.